Ruff Puff Pastry

Classic puff pastry is a laborious thing to make, requiring the cook to incorporate a block of butter into a piece of dough by rolling and folding the dough out again and again. You have to be vigilant to keep the butter cool but not overly chilled so that the pastry will come out right. Even professional bakers usually leave it to the professionals and buy commercially produced puff pastry.
This recipe, which appeared earlier this year in the Los Angeles Times thanks to Noelle Carter, just might do for puff pastry what Mark Bittman’s No Knead Bread recipe of 2006 did for bread baking: provided a nearly fool-proof shortcut to a tedious classic recipe.

This rough (or ruff, if you want to be cute about it) puff technique, as many call it, puts all the flour and butter together at once. You still need to roll out the pastry and fold it several times, and keep your ingredients chilled. But it’s no harder than making your own pie crust.

And once you make puff pastry, you have lots of other treats that can be made with very little effort, such as the following recipes for Parmesan Twists and Lemony Elephant Ears.

Ingredients

Preparation Instructions

Cover and freeze the butter and flours for 30 minutes to chill thoroughly.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the all-purpose and cake flours, along with the salt. Pulse to combine.

Add half of the frozen butter pieces and pulse until the butter is reduced to the size of peas. Add the remaining half of the pieces, and continue to pulse until the size of peas.
Slowly add the water and lemon juice, and continue to pulse just until the dough begins to clump together.

Remove the dough to a floured board (using all-purpose flour), and form into a rectangle about 12 by 8 inches.

Fold the dough in half (the dough will be very crumbly at this point), then roll out again until the dough measures a 12-by-8-inch rectangle.
Fold the dough in half again, then cover and place in the freezer for 20 minutes.

Remove the dough and roll out into a rectangle. This time, fold the dough into thirds, as with a letter. Roll the dough out once more and fold again into thirds. Roll out and fold once more.
Cover and chill until ready to use. You can also freeze the dough for up to 3 months. Thaw in refrigerator before using.

Makes about 22 ounces of puff pastry, which is just slightly more than a 17.5-ounce package (2 sheets) of commercial puff pastry.

Parmesan Twists
A savory treat for those who don’t like sweet. Based on a recipe from finecooking.com.

Heat the oven to 425 degrees. In a small bowl, mix the Parmigiano, herbes de Provence and 1/2 tsp. salt. On a lightly floured surface, roll half the puff pastry to a 10-inch-by-14-inch rectangle. Brush evenly with the egg wash and cut in half lengthwise to make two 5-inch-by14-inch strips. Distribute half of the cheese filling over one strip and lay the second strip on top, egg wash side down. Press the strips together with the rolling pin to fuse the two sheets. Cut the strip crosswise into strips that are half an inch wide. Lift a strip, twist it three times, and lay it on an ungreased baking sheet, pressing each end to keep the twists from unwinding during baking.

Let the twists cool on a rack and serve as soon as they’re cool, or within a couple of hours if possible.

Makes about 5 dozen twists.

Lemony Elephant Ears
Elephant ears, also known as palmiers or French hearts, are one of the easiest pastries to make once you have puff pastry. Brush some butter, sprinkle some sugar and citrus zest and you’ve got a treat that can be served for breakfast, brunch or dessert.
From finecooking.com.

Put 1/3 cup of the sugar and the orange zest in a small bowl. Stir until blended and set aside.

Arrange a large piece of plastic wrap on the counter. Using a rolling pin, roll out the puff pastry on the plastic into a 10-inch-by-15-inch rectangle. Sprinkle the top and bottom often and generously with the remaining 1/3 cup sugar to prevent sticking (you won’t use it all). Pour the melted butter onto the center of the dough and spread evenly with a small offset spatula. Sprinkle the reserved sugar-orange mixture evenly over the butter.

Cut the dough in half crosswise (you’ll have two 10-inch-by-7 ½ -inch rectangles). Starting on one short side and using the plastic as a guide, roll up the dough jellyroll style to the center. Roll up the opposite side until the two rolls meet in the center. Pinch the rolls so they stick together. Repeat with remaining dough. Wrap the rolls and refrigerate until firm, about 45 minutes.
Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Arrange the rolls, seam side down on a cutting board and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Arrange on the prepared cookie sheets about 1 ½ inches apart. Bake until golden brown, about 14 minutes. Turn over and bake for another 1 to 2 minutes until golden brown. Transfer ears to a rack to cool completely. Serve immediately or cover and store at room temperature for up to two days.
Makes about 22 ears.